United States presidential election, 2008

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United States presidential election, 2008
November 4, 2008
BarackObama2005portrait.jpg John McCain official photo portrait.JPG
Nominee Barack Obama John McCain
Party Democratic Republican
Home state Illinois Arizona
Running mate Joe Biden Sarah Palin
Electoral vote 365 (projected) 173 (projected)
States carried 28+DC+NE-02 22
Popular vote 69,183,701 59,783,630
Percentage 52.9% 45.7%
United States presidential election, 2008

Presidential election results map. Red denotes states/districts won by McCain/Palin, Blue denotes those won by Obama/Biden. Numbers indicate the number of electoral votes allotted to each state. Obama won one electoral vote from Nebraska's 2nd congressional district while McCain won the other four of the state's electoral votes.
Incumbent President
George W. Bush
Republican
President-Elect
Barack Obama
Democratic

The United States presidential election of 2008 was held on Tuesday, November 4, 2008. Democrat Barack Obama, the Senator from Illinois, won decisively, beating Republican Party nominee, John McCain, the senior United States Senator from Arizona, based on popular vote results from the states, as well as the projected electoral vote to be cast on December 15.

It was the 56th consecutive quadrennial United States presidential election. The selected electors from each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia will vote for president and vice president of the United States on December 15, 2008.

The 2008 election was the first time in U.S. history that an African American was elected president.[1] It was also the first time two sitting senators ran against each other. If elected, Republican Arizona Senator John McCain would have been the oldest first term president, and Republican Alaska Governor Sarah Palin would have been the first female vice president.

Contents

Characteristics

Leading candidates were senators

For the first time in history, both major party nominees were sitting United States Senators: Republican candidate John McCain (Arizona) and Democratic candidate Barack Obama (Illinois).[2] The 2008 election marked the first time since the election of John F. Kennedy in 1960 that a sitting Senator was elected President of the United States, and the third time in American history (Warren G. Harding in 1920 was the first). It was also the second time in American history, after the election of John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson in 1960, that both the successful presidential and vice-presidential candidates (Barack Obama and Joe Biden) were sitting Senators. With their victory, Biden, having been a Senator since January 1973 and having served for the past 36 years, became the longest-serving senator in history to become Vice President. Joe Biden is also the first Roman Catholic to be elected vice president.

For his part, McCain would have, if elected, become the first prisoner-of-war since Andrew Jackson to become President as well as the first to become President after having won at least four Senate terms. (Senator John Kerry was the Democratic nominee in 2004 during his fourth Senate term.)

Leading candidates' origins

Either major party nominee would have become the first president born outside the contiguous United States, as Obama was born in Honolulu, Hawaii, and McCain was born to American parents at Coco Solo, Panama Canal Zone, a U.S. naval base. When a challenge was raised to McCain's candidacy because of his birthplace, a bipartisan legal review agreed that McCain was in 1937 "retroactively rendered... a natural born citizen, if he was not one already", when Congress passed a law making all offspring of US citizens also citizens. Being a natural-born citizen is a constitutional requirement to become president of the US.[3] Obama, having a white mother and Kenyan father of the Luo ethnic group,[4] will be the first African-American, bi-racial president.

Obama will be the first president born in Hawaii, and the third president elected from Illinois, the first two being Abraham Lincoln and Ulysses S. Grant.[5] (Ronald Reagan was born in Illinois, but when elected had been in California for decades, where he was a former governor.) McCain would have been the first president from Arizona. The last major party nominees to run from these states were Adlai Stevenson (D) of Illinois, who ran and lost in 1952 and 1956, and Barry Goldwater (R) of Arizona, who ran and lost in 1964.

Leading candidates' ages

Barack Obama and John McCain are 24 years and 340 days apart in age. This is the largest age disparity between the two major party presidential candidates in history, even surpassing Bill Clinton and Bob Dole (23 years and 28 days apart in age) who ran against each other in the 1996 presidential election.

No incumbents

The 2008 election marked the first time since the 1952 election that neither the incumbent president nor the incumbent vice president was a candidate in the general election and the first time since the 1928 election that neither one sought his party's nomination for president.[6][7] The incumbent president, George W. Bush, was serving his second and final term and was barred from running again by the term limits imposed by the Twenty-second Amendment to the United States Constitution. Vice President Dick Cheney chose not to seek the presidency. Starting in 2001, Cheney frequently stated that he would never run for president: "I will say just as hard as I possibly know how to say [...] 'If nominated, I will not run; if elected, I will not serve.'"[8]

The 2008 election was the first since 1976, when Vice President Nelson Rockefeller was not President Gerald Ford's running mate, in which the sitting vice president was not a candidate for either the presidency or the vice presidency.[9]

Nominations

Democratic nomination

Main articles: Barack Obama presidential campaign, 2008, Democratic Party (United States) presidential primaries, 2008, and 2008 Democratic National Convention

Before the primaries

"Front-runner" status is dependent on the news agency reporting, and by October 2007, the consensus listed about three candidates as leading the pack. For example, CNN listed Hillary Clinton, John Edwards, and Barack Obama as the Democratic front runners. The Washington Post listed Clinton, Edwards and Obama as the front-runners, "leading in polls and fundraising and well ahead of the other major candidates".[10] MSNBC's Chuck Todd christened Giuliani and John McCain the Republican front runners after the second Republican presidential debate.[11]

Two candidates, Clinton and Obama, raised over $20 million in the first three months of 2007. Edwards raised over $12 million and Richardson raised over $6 million.[12] Hillary Clinton set the Democratic record for largest single day fund raising in a primary on June 30, 2007.[13]

Early primaries/caucuses

At the start of the year, support for Barack Obama began rising in the polls, passing Clinton for first place in Iowa; Obama ended up winning the caucus, with John Edwards coming in second and Clinton in third. Iowa is viewed as the state that jump-started Obama's campaign and set him on track to win the nomination and the presidency.

Obama was the new front-runner in New Hampshire and the Clinton campaign was struggling after a bad loss in Iowa and no real strategy in place for after the early primaries and caucuses. However, in a turning point for her campaign, Clinton's voice wavered with emotion in a public interview broadcast live on TV.[14] By the end of that day, Clinton won the primary by 2% of the vote, contrary to the predictions of pollsters who had her as much as twelve points behind on the day of the primary itself.

Super Tuesday

Barack Obama campaigns in Akron, Ohio on February 23rd.

On February 3 on the UCLA campus, celebrities Oprah Winfrey, Caroline Kennedy and Stevie Wonder, among others, made appearances to show support for Barack Obama in a rally led by Michelle Obama.[15] Obama trailed in the California polling by an average of 6.0%; he ended up losing the state by 8.3%.[16] Some analysts cited a large Latino turnout that voted for Clinton as the deciding factor.[17] After Gov. Schwarzenegger's wife, Maria Shriver, endorsed Obama.[18]

Super Tuesday occurred on February 5, 2008, during which the largest-ever number of simultaneous state primary elections was held.[19] Super Tuesday ended leaving the Democrats in a virtual tie, with Obama amounting 847 delegates to Clinton's 834 from the 23 states that held Democratic primaries.[20] A few days later, Mitt Romney suspended his presidential campaign and endorsed McCain, leaving Mike Huckabee and Ron Paul as the only major challengers of McCain in the remaining Republican primaries.[21]

Louisiana, Washington, Nebraska,Hawaii, Wisconsin, U.S. Virgin Islands, the District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia primaries and the Maine caucus all took place after Super Tuesday in February. Obama won all of them, giving him ten consecutive victories after Super Tuesday. [22][23]

Ohio and Texas

On March 4, Hillary Clinton carried Ohio and Rhode Island in the Democratic primaries; some considered these wins, especially Ohio, a surprise upset,[24] although she led in the polling averages in both states.[16][25] She also carried the primary in Texas, but Obama won the Texas caucuses held the same day and netted more delegates from the state than Clinton.[26]

Only one state held a primary in April. This was Pennsylvania, on April 22. Hillary Clinton won the primary by almost 9%, with approximately 55% of the vote.

Indiana and North Carolina

On May 6, North Carolina and Indiana held their Democratic presidential primaries. Clinton and Obama campaigned aggressively in both states before the voting took place; both candidates acknowledged the importance of these primaries and said they were turning point states.[27] Polling had shown Obama a few points ahead in North Carolina and Clinton similarly leading in Indiana. [28][29] However, in the actual results, Obama outperformed the polls by several points in both states, winning by a large margin in North Carolina and losing by only 1.4% in Indiana. After these primaries, it became very improbable, if not virtually impossible, for Clinton to win the nomination; Indiana had barely kept her campaign alive for the next month.[30] Although she did manage to win the majority of the remaining primaries and delegates, it was not enough to overcome Obama's substantial delegate lead.

Florida and Michigan

During late 2007, both parties adopted rules against states' moving their primaries to an earlier date in the year. For the Republicans, the penalty for this violation was supposed to be the loss of half the state party's delegates to the convention; however, the Democratic penalty was the complete exclusion from the national convention of delegates from states that broke these rules. The Democratic Party allowed only four states to hold elections before February 5, 2008. Initially, the Democratic leadership said it would strip all delegates from Florida and Michigan, which had moved their primaries into January. In addition, all major Democratic candidates agreed officially not to campaign in Florida or Michigan, and Edwards and Obama removed their names from the Michigan ballot. Clinton won a majority of delegates from both states (though 40% voted uncommitted in Michigan) and subsequently led a fight to seat all the Florida and Michigan delegates.[31]

Political columnist Christopher Weber noted that while her action was self-serving, it was also pragmatic to forestall Florida or Michigan voters becoming so disaffected they did not vote for Democrats in the general election.[32] There was some speculation that the fight over the delegates could last until the convention in August. On May 31, 2008, the Rules and Bylaws Committee of the Democratic Party reached a compromise on the Florida and Michigan delegate situation. The committee decided to seat delegates from Michigan and Florida at the convention in August, but to only award each a half-vote.[33]

Clinching the nomination

Technically the nomination process for major political parties continues through June of election year. In previous cycles the candidates were effectively chosen by the end of the March primaries. However, Barack Obama did not win enough delegates to secure the nomination until June 3, after a 17-month-long campaign against Hillary Clinton. Obama had a wide lead in states won, but since 1976 Democratic state delegate contests have been decided by a form of proportional representation, and close popular vote numbers between Clinton and Obama continued the contest into June 2008.[34] By May, Clinton had claimed a lead in the popular vote, but the Associated Press found her numbers accurate only in one very close scenario.[35]

In June, after the last of the primaries had taken place, Obama, with the help of multiple super delegate endorsements, had finally gotten enough delegates to secure the Democratic nomination for President,[36] becoming the first African-American to win the nomination of a major political party in the United States.[37] However, Clinton refused to concede the race for several days, although she did signal that her presidential campaign was ending in a post-primary speech on June 3 in her home state.[38] She finally conceded the nomination to Obama on June 7 and pledged her full support to the presumptive nominee, vowing to do everything she could to help him get elected.[39]

Republican nomination

Main articles: John McCain presidential campaign, 2008, Republican Party (United States) presidential primaries, 2008, and 2008 Republican National Convention

Before the primaries

In the third quarter of 2007, the top four GOP (Republican) fund raisers were Romney, Giuliani, Thompson, and Ron Paul.[40] Paul set the GOP record for the largest online single day fund raising on November 5, 2007.[41]

Early primaries/caucuses

Huckabee, after winning in Iowa, had little money and hoped for a third-place finish in New Hampshire. John McCain eventually displaced Rudy Giuliani and Romney as the front-runner in New Hampshire.McCain staged a turnaround victory, having been written off by the pundits and polling in single digits less than a month before the race.[42]

With the Republicans' stripping Michigan and Florida of half their delegates, the race for the nomination was based there. McCain meanwhile managed a small victory in South Carolina, setting him up for a larger and more important victory in Florida soon afterward.

Super Tuesday

In February, before Super Tuesday, the California primary took place after John McCain was endorsed by Governor of California Arnold Schwarzenegger and Rudy Giuliani (who had dropped out of the race following the Florida primary). This gave him a significant boost in the state.[43]

A few days later, Mitt Romney suspended his presidential campaign and endorsed McCain, leaving Mike Huckabee and Ron Paul as the only major challengers of McCain in the remaining Republican primaries.[44] Louisiana, Washington, Kansas, Wisconsin, and Washington held primaries in February after Super Tuesday, with McCain picking up wins in these states.[23] The Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico closed February for the Republicans.

Last decisive primaries

After Super Tuesday, John McCain had become the clear front runner, but by the end of February he still hadn't acquired enough delegates to secure the nomination. In March, John McCain clinched the Republican nomination after sweeping all four primaries, Texas, Ohio, Vermont, and Rhode Island, putting him over the top of the 1,191 delegates required to win the GOP nomination.[25] Mike Huckabee then conceded the race to McCain, leaving Ron Paul, who had just 16 delegates, as his only remaining active opponent.[45]

Party conventions

General election campaign

Presidential and vice-presidential debates

Main article: United States presidential election debates, 2008

Four debates were announced by the Commission on Presidential Debates:[46]

Another debate was sponsored by the Columbia University political union and took place there on October 19. All candidates who could theoretically win the 270 electoral votes needed to win the election were invited, and Ralph Nader, Cynthia McKinney, and Chuck Baldwin agreed to attend. Amy Goodman, principal host of Democracy Now!, moderated. It was broadcast on cable by C-SPAN and on the Internet by Break-the-Matrix.[48][49]

Campaign costs

Main article: Fundraising for the 2008 United States presidential election

The reported cost of campaigning for President has increased significantly in recent years. One source reported that if the costs for both Democratic and Republican campaigns are added together (for the Presidential primary election, general election, and the political conventions) the costs have more than doubled in only eight years ($448.9 million in 1996, $649.5 million in 2000, and $1.01 billion in 2004).[50] In January 2007, Federal Election Commission Chairman Michael E. Toner estimated the 2008 race will be a $1 billion election, and that to be taken seriously, a candidate needed to raise at least $100 million by the end of 2007.[51]

Although he had said he would not be running for president, published reports indicated that billionaire and New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg had been considering a presidential bid as an independent with up to $1 billion of his own fortune to finance it.[52] Bloomberg ultimately ended this speculation by unequivocally stating that he would not run.[53] Had Bloomberg decided to run, he would not have needed to campaign in the primary elections or participate in the conventions, greatly reducing both the necessary length and cost of his campaign, but perhaps also its exposure.

With the increase in money, the public financing system funded by the presidential election campaign fund checkoff has not been used by many candidates. John McCain,[54] Tom Tancredo,[55] John Edwards,[56] Chris Dodd,[57] and Joe Biden[58] qualified for and elected to take public funds in the primary. Other major candidates eschewed the low amount of spending permitted, or gave other reasons as in the case of Barack Obama, and have chosen not to participate.

Internet campaigns

Howard Dean collected large contributions via the internet in his 2004 primary run. In 2008 candidates went even further to reach out to Internet users through their own sites and such sites as YouTube, MySpace and Facebook.[59][60]

Democratic Party candidate Barack Obama created a broad grassroots movement and a new method of campaigning by courting and mobilizing activists, donations and voters through the Internet. It was part of a campaign that mobilized grassroots workers in every state. Obama also set fundraising records in more than one month by gaining support from a record-breaking number of individual small donors.[61]

On December 16, 2007, Ron Paul collected $6 million, more money on a single day through Internet donations than any presidential candidate in US history.[62]

Anonymous and semi-anonymous smear campaigns traditionally done with fliers and push calling also spread to the Internet.[63] Organizations specializing in the production and distribution of viral material, such as Brave New Films, emerged; such organizations have been said to be having a growing influence on American politics.[64]

Criticism of media coverage

Significant criticism was leveled at media outlets' coverage of the presidential election season. At the February debate, Tim Russert of NBC News was criticized for what some perceived as disproportionately tough questioning of Clinton.[65] Among the questions, Russert had asked Clinton, but not Obama, to provide the name of the new Russian President (Dmitry Medvedev).[65] This was later parodied on Saturday Night Live. In October 2007, liberal commentators accused Russert of harassing Clinton over the issue of supporting drivers' licenses for illegal immigrants.[66]

On April 16 ABC News hosted a debate in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Moderators Charles Gibson and George Stephanopoulos were criticized by viewers, bloggers and media critics for the poor quality of their questions.[65][66] Many viewers said they considered some of the questions irrelevant when measured against the importance of the faltering economy or the Iraq war. Included in that category were continued questions about Obama’s former pastor, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton’s assertion that she had to duck sniper fire in Bosnia more than a decade ago, and Senator Obama's not wearing an American flag pin.[65] The moderators focused on campaign gaffes and some believed they focused too much on Obama.[66] Stephanopoulos defended their performance, saying "Senator Obama was the front-runner" and the questions were "not inappropriate or irrelevant at all."[65][66]

In an op-ed published on 2008 April 27 in The New York Times, Elizabeth Edwards bemoaned that the media covered much more of "the rancor of the campaign" and "amount of money spent" than "the candidates' priorities, policies and principles."[67] Author Erica Jong commented that "our press has become a sea of triviality, meanness and irrelevant chatter."[68]

The Project for Excellence in Journalism and Harvard University's Joan Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics and Public Policy conducted a study of 5,374 media narratives and assertions about the presidential candidates from 2008 January 1 through 2008 March 9. The study found that Obama and Clinton received 69 percent and 67 percent favorable coverage, respectively, compared to only 43 percent favorable media coverage of McCain [69] although another study by the Center for Media and Public Affairs at George Mason University found the media coverage of Obama to be 72% negative from June 8 to July 21 compared to 57% negative fo McCain. [70] An October 29 study found 29 percent of stories about Obama to be negative, compared to 57 percent of stories about McCain being negative. [71]

A 2008 October 22 Pew Research Center poll estimated 70 percent of registered voters believed journalists wanted Barack Obama to win the election, as opposed to 9 percent for John McCain.[72]

Despite controversy during the campaign, a post-election Pew research survey found that 67% of voters thought that the press fairly covered Obama, versus 30% who viewed the coverage as unfair. Regarding McCain, 53% of voters viewed his press coverage as fair versus 44% who characterized it as unfair. Among affiliated Democrats, 83% believed the press fairly covered Obama; just 22% of Republicans thought the press was fair to McCain. In a post-election survey in 2004, after Republican George Bush won the presidency, 40% of Republicans thought the press was fair to Bush, and 67% of Democrats believed it was fair to Kerry. [73]

Election controversies

A number of pre-election controversies revolved around challenges to voter registration lists, involving techniques such as caging lists alleged to constitute voter suppression.

Voter list purges using unlawful criteria caused controversy in at least six swing states: Colorado, Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, Nevada and North Carolina.[74] On October 5, 2008 the Republican Lt. Governor of Montana, John Bohlinger, accused the Montana Republican Party of vote caging to purge 6,000 voters from three counties which trend Democratic.[75] Allegations arose in Michigan that the Republican Party planned to challenge the eligibility of voters based on lists of foreclosed homes.[76] The Obama campaign filed a lawsuit challenging this.[77] The House Judiciary Committee wrote to the Department of Justice requesting an investigation.[78]

The McCain campaign tried to publicize the alleged ACORN scandal, in which the voter registration organization reported a small percentage of strange names among those they registered (many of whom were reportedly Democrats). Several states investigated allegations of fraud but did not find the organization liable. Voter fraud would not take place unless someone tried to vote using one of the illegal names.

Virginia election authorities were ordered by a federal judge to preserve late-arriving absentee ballots sent by active-duty military personnel following a suit by the McCain campaign. It alleged that the state sent absentee ballots late to servicemen.[79] According to federal law, absentee ballots must be mailed to troops in foreign countries at least 45 days prior to an election. The charge against Virginia was that the ballots were not printed until after the deadline and therefore were mailed late to soldiers abroad.[80]

Guam's 173,000 residents are U.S. citizens, and must obey U.S. laws passed in Washington, yet they have neither a voting member of Congress, nor votes in the Electoral College.[81] Since 1980, they have held a straw poll for president at the same time as the U.S. national elections. In 2007, Guam's legislature voted to move the straw poll up to September, to draw attention to the choices of Guam's population, as well as their continued disfranchisement[81], but the bill was vetoed by the governor.[82] Obama won the 2008 Guam Straw Poll by 20,120 votes to 11,940 for McCain.[83]

Libertarian candidate Bob Barr filed a lawsuit in Texas to have Obama and McCain removed from the ballot in that state.[84] His campaign alleged that both the candidates had missed the August 26 deadline to file, and were present on the ballot contrary to Texas election law. Neither candidates at the time of the deadline had been confirmed as the candidate for their respective parties. The Texas Supreme Court dismissed the lawsuit without explanation.[85]

Election results

Election Day

Final poll closing times on Election Day.      7PM EST [00:00 UTC] (6)      7:30PM EST [00:30 UTC] (3)      8PM EST [01:00 UTC] (15+DC)      8:30PM EST [01:30 UTC] (1)      9PM EST [02:00 UTC] (15)      10PM EST [03:00 UTC] (4)      11PM EST [04:00 UTC] (5)      1AM EST [06:00 UTC] (1)

On November 4, 2008 was Election Day in 49 states, and the District of Columbia; and the last of 21 consecutive election days in Oregon, which abolished the voting booth in 1998. The majority of states allowed early voting with all states allowing some form of absentee voting.[86] Voters cast votes for listed presidential candidates but were actually selecting their state's slate of Electoral College members.

A McCain victory quickly became improbable as Obama amounted early wins in the Northeast, Iowa and the critical swing states of Pennsylvania and Ohio by 9:20 PM.[87] He also won the entire Northeast by comfortable margins, and the Great Lakes states of Michigan and Wisconsin, and neighboring Minnesota by double digits. All American networks called the election in favor of Barack Obama at 11:00 PM Eastern Standard Time as the polls closed on the West Coast, with the Electoral College totals being updated to 297 for Obama and 146 for McCain (270 are needed to win). Senator McCain gave a concession speech about half an hour later. President-elect Barack Obama appeared at midnight Eastern time, November 5, in Grant Park in front of a crowd of two-hundred fifty thousand people to deliver his acceptance speech.[88]

Following Obama's speech, spontaneous street parties broke out in major cities across the United States, in cities such as New York, Miami, Chicago, Columbus, Ohio, Detroit, Boston, Seattle, Washington DC, San Francisco, Denver, Atlanta, Madison, Wisconsin and Philadelphia[89]; and around the world in Bonn and Berlin, Germany; Obama, Japan[90]; Toronto, Canada; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Sydney, Australia; and Kenya.[91]

Later on election night, after Obama was named the President-elect, he picked up several more wins in swing states in which the polls had shown a close race. These included Florida,[92] Indiana, Virginia, and the western states of New Mexico, Colorado, and Nevada. All of these states had been carried by George Bush in 2004. However, North Carolina and the bellwether state of Missouri remained undecided for several days. Eventually, Obama won North Carolina, and McCain won Missouri, with Obama pulling out a rare win in Nebraska's 2nd congressional district. This put the total electoral vote count at 365 for Obama and 173 for McCain. The electors will meet on December 15 to cast the official electoral votes for President.

Grand total

Streetlight banner from Richard M. Daley in Hyde Park community area shows Obama's political image as one of Chicago's own.

Popular vote totals are unofficial.[93] Electoral vote projections per television network coverage (primarily CNN, ABC News, NBC News).

Presidential candidate Party Home state Popular vote Electoral
vote		 Running mate Running mate's
home state		 Running mate's
electoral vote
Count Pct
Barack Obama Democratic Illinois 69,183,701 52.91% 365 Joe Biden Delaware 365
John McCain Republican Arizona 59,783,630 45.72% 173 Sarah Palin Alaska 173
Ralph Nader — Connecticut 733,332 0.56% 0 Matt Gonzalez California 0
Bob Barr Libertarian Georgia 521,986 0.40% 0 Wayne Allyn Root Nevada 0
Chuck Baldwin Constitution Florida 192,976 0.15% 0 Darrell Castle Tennessee 0
Cynthia McKinney Green California 159,703 0.12% 0 Rosa Clemente North Carolina 0
Other 188,823 0.14% – Other –
Total 130,764,151 100% 538 538
Needed to win 270 270

Turnout

The voter turnout for this election was broadly predicted to be very high by American standards,[94] and a record number of votes were cast. The current total number of votes tallied is roughly 131 million (more, if one adds "blank" votes and totals from individual county websites), compared to 122.3 million in 2004 (which also boasted the highest record since 1968, after which the voting age was lowered to 18). The final vote tally will not be known until December 15, 2008, at the earliest. Expressed as a percentage of eligible voters, 131 million votes reflects a turnout of at least 62.9% of eligible voters, the highest since 1964.[95]

African American turnout increased from the 2004 election; in 2004 African Americans comprised 11.1% of the electorate. However, in 2008 African Americans made up 13.0% of the electorate. [96] According to exit polls, over 95% of African Americans cast ballots for Barack Obama. This played a critical role in southern states such as North Carolina. 95% of North Carolina's registered African American voters turned out, as opposed to 69% of North Carolinians in general, with Obama carrying an unprecedented 100% of African American females and African Americans age 18 to 29, according to exit polling. [97] This was the case in Virginia as well where much higher turnout among African Americans propelled Obama to victory in the former Republican stronghold. Even in southern states where Obama was unsuccessful, such as Georgia, South Carolina, and Mississippi, due to large African American turnout he was much more competitive than John Kerry in 2004.

Popular vote

Popular vote by county. Red represents counties that went for McCain, Blue represents counties that went for Obama. Connecticut, Hawaii, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont had all counties go to Obama. Oklahoma had all counties go to McCain.
States/districts won by Obama/Biden
States/districts won by McCain/Palin

Vote totals

Further information: United States presidential election: The popular vote on Election Day

This table records the official final state election board tallies, or unofficial state election board results where the final total is not yet available. Figures for Massachusetts, the only state that has not released unofficial tallies as of December 6, 2008, are from news reports. Notes in the "Source" column identify the reference source for each state. Bold indicates vote count winner in each state or (in the case of Nebraska) electoral district.

State Obama McCain Nader Barr Baldwin McKinney Others Final Source
Alabama 813,479 1,266,546 6,788 4,991 4,310 0 3,705 yes [98]
Alaska 123,594 193,841 3,783 1,589 1,660 0 1,730 yes [99]
Arizona 1,034,707 1,230,111 11,301 12,555 1,371 3,406 24 yes [100]
Arkansas 422,310 638,017 12,882 4,776 4,023 3,470 1,139 yes [101]
California 8,063,473 4,902,278 105,375 65,654 0 37,432 39,620 [102]
Colorado 1,288,568 1,073,584 13,350 10,897 6,234 2,822 5,894 yes [103]
Connecticut 1,000,994 628,873 19,113 302 63 54 [104]
Delaware 255,446 152,373 2,401 1,109 626 385 58 yes [105]
District of Columbia 245,800 17,367 958 590 1,138 yes [106]
Florida 4,282,074 4,045,624 28,124 17,218 7,915 2,887 6,903 yes [107]
Georgia 1,844,137 2,048,744 1,123 28,812 1,305 249 62 yes [108]
Hawaii 325,871 120,566 3,825 1,314 1,013 979 yes [109]
Idaho 236,440 403,012 7,175 4,747 3,658 yes [110]
Illinois 3,419,673 2,031,527 30,952 19,645 8,256 11,838 1,160 [111]
Indiana 1,374,039 1,345,648 909 29,257 1024 87 90 yes [112]
Iowa 828,940 682,379 8,014 4,590 4,445 1,423 7,029 yes [113]
Kansas 514,765 699,655 10,527 6,706 4,148 35 36 yes [114]
Kentucky 751,985 1,048,462 15,378 5,989 4,694 [115]
Louisiana 782,989 1,148,275 6,997 2,581 9,187 10,732 yes [116]
Maine 421,923 295,273 10,636 2,900 431 [117]
Maryland 1,629,467 959,862 14,713 9,842 3,760 4,747 9,205 [118]
Massachusetts 1,891,083 1,104,284 28,520 12,999 5,023 6,528 [119]
Michigan 2,872,579 2,048,639 33,085 23,716 14,685 8,892 170 yes [120]
Minnesota 1,573,354 1,275,409 30,152 9,174 6,787 5,174 10,319 [121]
Mississippi 554,662 724,597 4,011 2,529 2,551 1,034 481 yes [122]
Missouri 1,441,911 1,445,814 17,813 11,386 8,201 80 yes [123]
Montana 231,667 242,763 3,686 1,355 10,638 yes [124]
Nebraska 329,132 448,801 5,306 2,684 2,927 1,002 [125]
1st Dist. 118,588 146,140 1,934 906 1,023 392
2nd Dist. 134,168 132,908 1,502 533 560 292 [126]
3rd Dist. 71,867 167,212 1,789 789 1,335 305
Nevada 533,736 412,827 6,150 4,263 3,194 1,411 6,267 yes [127]
New Hampshire 384,826 316,534 3,503 2,217 226 40 3,624 [128], [129]
New Jersey 2,215,422 1,613,207 21,298 8,441 3,956 3,636 2,277 yes [130]
New Mexico 472,422 346,832 5,327 2,428 1,597 1,552 yes [131]
New York 4,769,700 2,742,298 41,086 19,513 614 12,729 8,873 yes [132]
North Carolina 2,142,651 2,128,474 25,722 13,942 yes [133]
North Dakota 141,278 168,601 4,189 1,354 1,199 yes [134]
Ohio 2,887,114 2,647,538 41,403 19,634 12,418 8,373 17,402 [135]
Oklahoma 502,496 960,165 [136]
Oregon 1,037,291 738,475 18,614 7,635 7,693 4,543 13,613 yes [137]
Pennsylvania 3,276,363 2,651,812 42,997 19,812 yes [138]
Rhode Island 296,571 165,391 4,829 1,382 675 797 122 yes [139]
South Carolina 862,449 1,034,896 5,053 7,283 6,827 4,461 yes [140]
South Dakota 170,924 203,054 4,267 1,835 1,895 yes [141]
Tennessee 1,085,720 1,477,405 11,882 8,540 8,182 2,498 2,336 [142]
Texas 3,528,633 4,479,328 5,214 56,116 5,052 671 2,781 yes [143]
Utah 327,670 596,030 8,416 6,966 12,012 982 294 yes [144]
Vermont 219,262 98,974 3,339 1,067 500 1,904 yes [145]
Virginia 1,959,532 1,725,005 11,483 11,067 7,474 2,344 6,355 yes [146]
Washington 1,750,848 1,229,216 29,489 12,728 9,432 3,819 1,346 [147]
West Virginia 304,127 398,061 7,230 2,471 2,357 yes [148]
Wisconsin 1,677,211 1,262,393 17,605 8,858 5,072 4,216 8,062 yes [149]
Wyoming 82,868 164,958 2,525 1,594 1,192 1,521 yes [150]
U.S. Total 69,184,176 59,783,798 732,776 522,089 193,180 159,639 201,336

Close states/districts

States/districts in the 2008 United States Presidential election where the margin of victory was less than 5%. Blue states/districts went for Obama, red for McCain. Yellow states were won by either candidate by 5% or more. Nevada, Colorado, New Mexico, Virginia and Iowa were won by Bush in 2004 but were won by Obama by a margin of more than 5% in 2008.

These results are provisional and are subject to change until they are made official by each state. Red font color denotes states won by Republican John McCain; blue denotes those won by Democrat Barack Obama.

States where the margin of victory was under 5%

  1. Missouri 0.13%
  2. North Carolina 0.33%
  3. Nebraska's 2nd congressional district 0.47%
  4. Indiana 1.04%
  5. Montana 2.27%
  6. Florida 2.82%
  7. Ohio 4.25%

States where the margin of victory was between 5% and 10%

  1. Georgia 5.21%
  2. Virginia 6.31%
  3. South Dakota 8.41%
  4. Arizona 8.52%
  5. North Dakota 8.63%
  6. Colorado 8.95%
  7. South Carolina 8.98%
  8. Iowa 9.57%
  9. New Hampshire 9.65%

Finance

Excludes spending by independent expenditure concerns.

Source: FEC[151]

Ballot access

Presidential ticket Party Ballot access[152]
Obama / Biden Democratic 50+DC
McCain / Palin Republican 50+DC
Nader / Gonzalez Independent 45+DC
Barr / Root Libertarian 45
Baldwin / Castle Constitution 37
McKinney / Clemente Green 32

No other candidate had ballot access in enough states to win 270 electoral votes.

Analysis

Prior to the election, commentators discussed whether Senator Obama would be able to redraw the electoral map by winning states that had been voting for Republican candidates in recent decades.[153] In many ways, he was successful. He won every region of the country by double digits except the South, which the Republicans won by less than double digits (9 points). He won Delaware, Maryland, North Carolina, Florida, and Virginia in the South (region as defined by the US Census Bureau.) The Republicans "took the South only because McCain, who ran roughly even with Obama among whites in every other region, won Southern whites by 38 percentage points."[154]

Obama was the first presidential candidate to split the electoral votes from Nebraska. Together with Maine, Nebraska is one of two states that split their electoral votes. Obama won the electoral vote from Nebraska's 2nd congressional district which contains the city of Omaha. Nebraska's other four electoral votes went to John McCain.

Obama's raw popular vote margin of victory (9,400,071 votes) was the largest ever for a non-incumbent presidential candidate, and the sixth largest absolute margin of victory of all time. Obama's popular vote percentage (52.8%) is also the highest for a Democratic presidential candidate since Lyndon Johnson in 1964 and the highest overall since George H. W. Bush was elected president in 1988. He also received more votes than any presidential candidate in American history, breaking the previous record of just over 62 million, held by President George W. Bush after his successful reelection bid in 2004.

International reaction

Main article: International reaction to the 2008 United States presidential election

The American presidential election was followed closely internationally. When it was clear that Obama was victorious, many world leaders sent congratulations and well-wishes to the President-elect.

Opinion polling

Acceptance and concession speeches

Obama
Main article: Barack Obama presidential acceptance speech

"If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible, who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time, who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer..."

"...It's been a long time coming, but tonight, because of what we did on this day, in this election, at this defining moment, change has come to America..."

"...The road ahead will be long. Our climb will be steep. We may not get there in one year or even one term, but America -- I have never been more hopeful than I am tonight that we will get there. I promise you -- we as a people will get there...."

"...This is our time, to put our people back to work and open doors of opportunity for our kids; to restore prosperity and promote the cause of peace; to reclaim the American dream and reaffirm that fundamental truth, that, out of many, we are one; that while we breathe, we hope. And where we are met with cynicism and doubts and those who tell us that we can't, we will respond with that timeless creed that sums up the spirit of a people: Yes, we can."

"And to all those watching tonight from beyond our shores, from parliaments and palaces to those who are huddled around radios in the forgotten corners of our world, our stories are singular, but our destiny is shared, and a new dawn of American leadership is at hand. To those who would tear this world down, we will defeat you. To those who seek peace and security, we support you. And to all those who have wondered if America's beacon still burns as bright, tonight we proved once more that the true strength of our nation comes not from our the might of our arms or the scale of our wealth, but from the enduring power of our ideals: democracy, liberty, opportunity, and unyielding hope."

McCain[155]

"...My friends, we have — we have come to the end of a long journey. The American people have spoken, and they have spoken clearly..."

"...To congratulate him [Obama] on being elected the next president of the country that we both love..."

"...In a contest as long and difficult as this campaign has been, his success alone commands my respect for his ability and perseverance. But that he managed to do so by inspiring the hopes of so many millions of Americans who had once wrongly believed that they had little at stake or little influence in the election of an American president is something I deeply admire and commend him for achieving..."

"...This is an historic election, and I recognize the special significance it has for African-Americans and for the special pride that must be theirs tonight..."

"...I wish Godspeed to the man who was my former opponent and will be my president. And I call on all Americans, as I have often in this campaign, to not despair of our present difficulties, but to believe, always, in the promise and greatness of America, because nothing is inevitable here..."

See also


Other elections

References

  1. ↑ White Americans play major role in electing the first black president, Los Angeles Times, November 5, 2008
  2. ↑ Wingfield, Brian (2008-02-08). "The Senator President". Forbes.com. http://www.forbes.com/2008/02/08/obama-clinton-mccain-biz-beltway-cx_bw_0208senate.html. Retrieved on 2008-07-18. 
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  5. ↑ National Archives
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  9. ↑ In 1980, Walter Mondale was a candidate for reelection. In 1984, George H. W. Bush was a candidate for reelection. In 1988, Bush was a candidate for president. In 1992, Dan Quayle was a candidate for reelection. In 1996, Al Gore was a candidate for reelection. In 2000, Gore was a candidate for president. In 2004, Dick Cheney was a candidate for reelection.
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External links

http://www.usatoday.com/news/politics/election2008/results.htm

United States presidential election, 2008
United States elections, 2008 · Candidates (Comparison) · Debates · Congressional support · Fundraising · Ballot access · Timeline · Super Tuesday · Potomac primary · Super Tuesday II · General polls · Statewide general polls · International polls · International reaction
Democratic Party
Convention · Primary polls ·
General polls · Debates · Primaries ·
Primary results · Superdelegates
Nominee: Barack Obama (campaign · positions)
VP nominee: Joe Biden (positions)
Former candidates: Evan Bayh · Joe Biden (campaign) · Hillary Rodham Clinton (campaign) · Chris Dodd (campaign) · John Edwards (campaign) · Mike Gravel (campaign) · Dennis Kucinich (campaign) · Dal LaMagna · Bill Richardson (campaign) · Tom Vilsack (campaign)
Republican Party
Convention · Primary polls ·
General polls · Debates · Primaries ·
Primary results
Nominee: John McCain (campaign · positions)
VP nominee: Sarah Palin (positions)
Former candidates: Sam Brownback · Hugh Cort · John Cox · Dan Gilbert · Jim Gilmore (campaign) · Rudy Giuliani (campaign) · Mike Huckabee (campaign) · Duncan Hunter (campaign) · Alan Keyes (campaign) · Ray McKinney · Ron Paul (campaign) · Mitt Romney (campaign) · Tom Tancredo (campaign) · Fred Thompson (campaign) · Tommy Thompson (campaign)
Constitution Party
Convention
Nominee: Chuck Baldwin (campaign)/Darrell Castle
Former candidates: Daniel Imperato · Alan Keyes (campaign)
Green Party
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Nominee: Cynthia McKinney (campaign · positions)/Rosa Clemente
Former candidates: Elaine Brown · Jesse Johnson · Kent Mesplay · Kat Swift
Libertarian Party
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Nominee: Bob Barr (campaign · positions)/Wayne Allyn Root
Former candidates: Mike Gravel (campaign) · Daniel Imperato · Steve Kubby · George Phillies · Wayne Allyn Root · Mary Ruwart · Doug Stanhope
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America's Independent Party: Alan Keyes (campaign)/Brian Rohrbough · Boston Tea Party: Charles Jay/Thomas L. Knapp · New American Independent Party: Frank McEnulty · Objectivist Party · Prohibition Party: Gene Amondson/Leroy Pletten · Party for Socialism and Liberation: Gloria La Riva/Eugene Puryear · Reform Party: Ted Weill/Frank McEnulty · Socialist Party: Brian Moore/Stewart Alexander · Socialist Workers Party: Róger Calero/Alyson Kennedy
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